The Wilmingtonian., 1887-05-21
PRICE TWO CENTS.
The Andoyer Question.

The following will be found somewhat in
teresting reading as pendent to the And
over in the Concrete" being what the Rev
W. E. Parson, pastor of the Lutheran
Church of the Reformation, Washington, D..
c., said Sunday last:
Instead of the sweeping question as to the
fate of the millions who died without hear
ing Ghjist, he took the case OF one man and
explained that ten years ago there died in
the ancient city Of Kioto, Japan, man who
was By nature Royal soul, Mr.. KIDD, the
trusted adviser of the Emperor He was
siEple in manner, affectionate in disposition,
good man naturally. Those who knew
him best called him pious man, though he
believed in no religion. He knew too much
to believe in Buddhism, the popular religion
of his own country, and not quite enough to
accept Christianity intelligently.
"What was his fateP" asked the pastor
"Practically he knew nothing of Christ;
he wanted to know more; bis desire was all
right; be wanted Christianity to come into
concrete is simply this: What is the des-
tiny of that man? Was it sealed hopelessly
at deathe Is that man gone to be the CON-
panion of thieves, murderers and scoffers?
Is be to be judged by some absolute amount
Of creed knowledge, failing which he passes
under fatal and final condemnation The
thought is monstrous. 1t is unohristian. 1t
is barbaric. Reason, Justice, mercy, affec-
tion, every instinct of the soul, the Scrip
tures themselves, all cry out against such
horrible teaching. Yet that is the teaching
against which Apdover protests When
Christ said: If had not come and spoken
to them, they had not had sin. He meant
that no man can ever come to the full de-
gree Of responsibility until he bad had the
fullest possible opportunity. When Paul
said; How shall they believe in Him of
whons they have not heard?' he was apollo
gizfng for state of ignorance, but condemn
ing man for it,"
The speaker said we had better believe in
annihilation, universaIsm, purgatory or al
most any doctrine which had some show of
mercy in it. He characterized the Andover
prosecution as persecution, and that, from
his years Of experience in foreign land and
acquaintance with many missionaries, the
very ran to send out as missionary was
the man who carried no such awful message
as that there was no hope for those who had
had the misfortune to depart this life in ad-
vance Of tile messenger. He affirmed thai
there was not verse of Scripture to bear
out the traditional teaching, but that the
Scriptures contained the ''larger hope"
After full discussion of the question from
the standpoint of reason aud Scripture, Mr..
Parson closed by saying:
"My friend who died ten years ago with
out knowing Christ, is in the hands of God
who can do no injustice anywhere. And
what is true of one is true of millions. The
Andover question is in the minds of intelli-
| gent christians of all churches and the msl-
titude are answering this with liberality
that grows with the passing years. 1 thank
God that the Church to which belong has
no such awful dogma as to the fate of. the
heather as would subject her ministers to
trial for heresy for holding that there might
be some hope for those who die without hav.
ing heard of Christ"
Mr.. Kuki, the Japanese Minister, who was
resent with his Secretary of Legation, at
the close of the sermon warmly coDgrstu-
lated the pastor and expressed himself as
especially gratified with the reference to
Mr., KIDD, the former Privy Counselor of the
Emperor.